New Delhi, July 18 -- Union Oil Minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday slammed the European Union on threatning sanctions on countries, including India, for purchasing Russian oil amid its war with Ukraine.

Speaking at the Urja Varta annual conference of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), Puri addressed concerns over Donald Trump and NATO's warning of sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia.

He claimed that the European Union, a group of states threatening the sanctions, is the largest buyer of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China and Japan.

"In terms of LNG or natural gas, the EU was the largest buyer, EU is purchasing 51 per cent of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China 21 per cent and Japan 18 per cent," Puri said....